Sailor Trek: Voyager by Bill Harris
"I don't like bullies, I don't like threats... and I don't like you."
- Captain Kathryn Janeway
Chapter 8 -- Rebirth
They stared with varying expressions of shock at the sight of
Voyager's destruction. Finally, Venus shook her head in denial.
"That... that can't be real. It's gotta be a fake."
"I'm afraid not." The Scouts turned as one to face Mercury. She
in turn had her attention focused completely on her computer. "He
overloaded the warp core, forcing it to generate more energy than it
could possibly handle." She looked up from the palmtop, glaring at
Mitchell. The expression on her face was a mixture of sadness at the
loss of life in orbit and outrage that any being could be capable of
such a wanton act. "The core exploded before they had a chance to
eject it."
Far above them in the Negaran throneroom, Metallah was also in a
state of shock. The ship that she had labored so hard to capture and
use in spreading the power of her people through the stars, had been
wiped from existence. She was certain that nothing her forces had done
would have triggered it's destruction. There was only one explanation
that she could think off. Leaving her second to handle the Voyager
crewmembers attacking the front gate, she strode determinedly towards
the lower chamber.
One was not supposed to question a god, but she had to find out
*why* Mitchell had destroyed the ship.
Metallah was not the only one who wanted the answer to that
particular question.
Janeway turned to face Mitchell, who had an insufferably self
satisfied expression on his face. "Why?" she asked in a bitter voice.
"After trying so hard to capture my ship, why destroy it now?!?"
"I no longer have the need for a starship," Mitchell
explained. "Before, my plan was to use your ship as a means to return
to the Alpha Quadrant and avenge myself on the Federation. I can travel
short distances in space, but even I must rest at certain points. For
the long trip of thousands of light years back to Federation space,
that would mean a voyage of several hundred years at least. The
Federation may not even exist by the time I returned. Therefore to
shorten the voyage, I needed a ship. But thanks to my recently
discovered information, I know how to return quickly to Federation space
and in my own time frame as well."
"And just how do you intend to do that?" Tuvok asked.
Mitchell gazed thoughtfully at him. "I thought Vulcans were
supposed to be intelligent."
"Just answer the question, creep!" Venus snapped.
Mitchell chuckled lightly, as if Venus' display of ire only
amused him. "To answer it simply, by using the quantum fluxes. First
I will journey to your world through the one from this world. Once
there, I can use the quantum flux that Kirk used to get to and from your
universe. That will place me in the Alpha Quadrant with little effort,
and in the right time to properly repay my 'old friend'."
Jupiter frowned. "But wouldn't that put you in deep space near
the Romulan Neutral Zone?"
Mitchell waved it off. "It is of no matter. I can make the short
voyage to a nearby world and easily obtain the services of a starship.
Then I can begin having my revenge on my dear friend James." He took a
moment to ponder the possibilities and smiled. "Maybe even the
Enterprise itself. It would be poetic justice."
"But if you do that, it will change history!" Mercury protested.
"Both for this universe, and to a lesser extent our own."
"So?" The one time Starfleet officer seemed unconcerned. "Why
should you care? The changes to your timeline will be minor. You won't
even notice the difference. As for altering the past of this universe,
I really don't care." He paused, considering. "Now that I think about
it, I think I did the Voyager crew a favor. This way they had a chance
to live and die, rather than simply ceasing to exist."
"And that's supposed to justify that?" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed,
gesturing at the image still displayed above them. "That's supposed to
justify mass murder?"
"A god doesn't have to justify his actions to anyone," Mitchell
said arrogantly. "Least of all to mere mortals."
"You son of a..." Tom began, taking a step towards Mitchell. From
the look on the helmsman's face, it appeared he was going to try and
tear Mitchell apart with his bare hands. Chakotay grabbed him by the
arm, restraining him from trying anything rash.
But there was no one to restrain the Scouts, who had quite plainly
heard enough. By unspoken accord, the group moved in unison, taking up
positions around Mitchell.
"Don't be fools," Mitchell told them. "You haven't got a chance
against me."
"We'll just have to see about that! JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" the
tall Scout cried out and unleashed her power at Mitchell. When it
appeared he was unscathed, Venus immediately followed up on her friend's
efforts.
"VENUS LOVE-CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" The golden band of energy lashed out
and struck Mitchell, who's only reaction was to laugh.
"Is that the best you can do?" he asked, taunting the Scouts.
"Here's a sample of *my* power." Making a sweeping gesture with his
right hand, he sent a pressure wave outward that slammed into both
Venus and Jupiter, sending both of them flying. Venus hit the far wall
hard while Jupiter ended up colliding with Janeway. Thus cushioned,
Jupiter was almost immediately back on her feet but the captain remained
on the ground, dazed from the impact. Venus was also getting back to her
feet, albeit rather shakily. "That was a warning, Sailor Scouts,"
Mitchell snarled at them. "I have no quarrel with you but if you
continue to interfere, I'll crush you like the insects you are!"
If Mitchell had intended to cow the Sailor Scouts and their allies,
he failed utterly. In fact, it seemed that his remarks only served to
harden their resolve. "Well, you'll find these insects have a powerful
sting!" Mars retorted, launching into her attack. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE
SURROUND!"
The fire rings struck Mitchell, but had the same effect as the
previous attempts. Which is to say, very little. "Pathetic," he said,
pointing a finger at her. An arc of energy, similar in appearance to
lightning, shot out at her. Mars able to dodge most of it, but the
outer edges of the bolt grazed her right leg. A sharp, searing pain
shot through her knee and she cried out involuntarily.
"Mars!" Sailor Moon cried out and raced to her friend's side.
Ignoring the injured Scout, Mitchell smiled arrogantly at Mercury.
"Go ahead, Mercury. I believe it's your turn."
Mercury quickly went over her options before committing herself.
Considering the lack of success the others were having against Mitchell,
she didn't see how her powers would be much more effective. But maybe
there was a way she could impair him and buy themselves time to regroup
and formulate an alternative strategy. So... "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"
The temperature of the room dropped drastically as the fog formed
around them. But before it had fully settled in, the fog suddenly
dispersed as quickly as it had appeared. "Tsk, tsk, Mercury," he said,
wagging a finger at her. "I was expecting much better from you."
Sailor Moon looked up in time to see Mercury being struck by
Mitchell's latest attack, a large pressure wave, similar to what had
struck Jupiter and Venus. Mercury flew backwards several meters before
landing hard onto the floor.
"Mercury!" Sailor Moon gazed with deep concern for her friend.
"Are you OK?"
"I'll... be fine," she answered, although the shakiness in her
voice caused a large sense of doubt to rise up in Sailor Moon.
Chakotay and his fellow Voyager crewmate had not been idle. From
almost the first moment the combat started, they had been firing shot
after shot from their phaser rifles at Mitchell. But the self-proclaimed
deity ignored their efforts as if they were less than nothing, preferring
to focus his attention on the Sailor Scouts. Now he was turning his
attention to Venus and Jupiter, who had recovered enough by this time to
reenter the battle. Each of their own individual attacks had proven
ineffective against Mitchell, so they tried combining their powers.
About the only visible effect was that Mitchell seemed to be becoming a
bit irritated. "That's enough playtime," he snarled, turning his gaze
to Jupiter.
Jupiter braced herself to dodge whatever Mitchell sent her way, but
even so she was totally unprepared for what happened. The ground beneath
her feet split open slightly and a swirling mass of vines erupted from it,
quickly ensnaring her arms and legs.
"Hang on, Sailor Jupiter. I'll get you free," Venus said
confidently. She took a step towards her, intending on blasting the
vines holding her friend. Unfortunately, Mitchell had other ideas.
Before Venus could move so much as another millimeter, he looked in her
direction. The blonde froze in midstep, unable to move.
Mitchell pointed a finger in her direction. "Goodbye, Sailor
Venus," he said just before sending a blast of psychokinetic energy
hurtling her direction.
Venus stared wide eyed in horror as the white hot beam shot at
her, unable to move or even to scream. Then, just before it impacted,
she felt something hit her in the side and send her sprawling onto the
ground. Now able to move, she saw just who had knocked her out of the
way... and at a price. "Tom!"
The young lieutenant was lying still, smoke rising from the wound
in his chest. He evidently had attempted to block the blast with the
medkit, but it had gone right through it and struck him just to the right
of his sternum. Chakotay was already racing over to him and reached Tom
just before Venus did. Out of the corner of his eye he noted that Neelix
was using his phaser to liberate Jupiter from the vines holding her...
And that Mitchell was taking aim at the two of them. "Neelix! Behind
you!"
Alerted by Chakotay's warning, Neelix dove for the ground, taking
Jupiter down with him. Even so, the lightning like arc still struck the
Talaxian in his left side.
Jupiter tore the remaining vines loose and started to help Neelix
up. "Are you OK?"
"I'll be fine," he said, his voice sounding a bit strained.
"Fortunately we Talaxians are quite resilient."
"Well, thanks for the help, but..." She took a close look at the
wound and gulped. The area around it was charred and cauterized, and
it looked fairly deep to her. "Doesn't it hurt to breath?"
"Not as much as you might think," Neelix assured her. "I never
thought I'd be glad my lungs were stolen four years ago. And luckily,
the one Kes lent me is over here." He patted the right side of his
ribcage.
"You only bought her a few more seconds, Talaxian," Mitchell
sneered as he prepared to fire on her again. But instead he suddenly
pulled his hand back, grimacing in some pain. The rose that had grazed
him was now embedded in the cavern floor. "Finally taking action, Cape
Boy?" he sneered.
"I strike when I'm needed, and when it will do the most good,"
Tuxedo Mask responded. "Besides, I was sure they'd beat you easily."
Smarting from the taunt, Mitchell snarled and hurled a small ball of
energy at him, but the tuxedo clad warrior moved easily out of the way.
'So far, so good,' Darien reasoned to himself. 'Now if only I can keep
his attention on me long enough for the Scouts to really find a way to
beat him.'
"Is he...?" Venus began.
Chakotay felt for a pulse, and noted with a great sense of relief
that there was still one to be found. From the severity of the wound,
he had half expected that Tom had been killed instantly. "He's alive,
but it doesn't look good." He reached into the medkit for the medical
tricorder, but found that the small instrument had been partially melted
by the blast impact, rendering the device useless. He glance up at
Mercury. When she had seen Tom go down, she had moved instantly to
render assistance, her own injuries put aside for the moment. "Would
you mind?" he asked, motioning to Tom.
"Of course," she answered, already activating her palmtop. In an
instant the requested readouts started appearing on the display, and she
grimaced as she read them.
Chakotay noticed her expression. "It's that bad?"
"I'm afraid so. He's got severe trauma to his cardiopulmonary
system. I'm surprised he's even alive at all. We need a real doctor to
treat him and..." Her voice trailed off as an odd readout appeared. An
odd datafile had appeared in her computer listing. She toggled the
inquiry to get more information on it, but for some reason it activated
the unknown program.
She readied herself for some other form of trouble, but even so she
still almost dropped her computer in shock when the holographic doctor
appeared in front of her... Or at least a version of him that was one
third his normal size. "Please state the nature of the medical
emergency," he said, then belatedly realized that his surroundings
weren't what he expected. "Wait a minute... I was in Sickbay. What
am I doing here? Where's my mobile emitter?" Then the full extent of
his circumstances struck him. "Why am I the size of a five year old?" he
demanded. "And why is my voice coming from that device?" He gestured to
Mercury's computer at the last.
"Was your computer hooked up to Voyager's main computer?" Chakotay
asked Mercury.
She nodded. "Yes. I saw the overload building up in the warp core
and I linked up my computer to try and help stop it. But the ship
exploded before I could do anything."
"Exploded?!?" the Doctor exclaimed.
Chakotay chose to ignore the Doctor for now. "Then somehow the
Doctor's program must have been downloaded into your computer before the
ship was destroyed."
"Destroyed?!?" the Doctor exclaimed again. He looked bewilderedly
between the three of them. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"
"Later," Chakotay told him. "Right now Tom need's your help if he's
going to have a chance. Suffice it to say that your program is running
off of Mercury's computer. Since it wasn't designed for our type of
holographic programs, that's why your size is smaller and your voice is
coming from her computer."
"Well, I wish it had done a better job of it," the Doctor noted
sarcastically. "At this size, I won't be very good with standard
medical equipment." For emphasis, he stooped down to pick up the
ruined medical tricorder, but his hand just passed tight through the
device. "Correction: I'm not going to be any good in this condition."
"I'll help you, Doctor," Mercury volunteered. She felt a gentle
touch on her shoulder and turned to see Neelix beside her. He and
Jupiter must have moved to their position after the Talaxian had freed
her.
"You're going to be needed back in the fight," Neelix pointed out.
Mercury quickly glanced back to the battle. Sailor Moon was now
confronting Mitchell, who was still busy with Tuxedo Mask. The tuxedo
clad warrior had managed to evade Mitchell's various attacks until now
but he couldn't keep that pace up forever. "On the other hand there's
not much I can do to affect the outcome. I'll assist the Doctor with
Tom."
"You're right. Here," She handed her computer to Neelix. "You'll
need this to keep the Doctor running." She turned to Venus and Jupiter.
"Let's go."
"Right," Venus responded, and the three of them charged back
towards the conflict.
In the meantime, Sailor Moon had rushed to aid Tuxedo Mask. "We
aren't going to let your attempt to rewrite history succeed, Mitchell!
Besides, I have a hard enough time studying history as it is without
people like you changing it! In the name of the Moon and Starfleet
Command, I'll punish you!" Barely pausing for a breath, she launched
right into her own attack. "MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!"
Chakotay held his breath, hoping against hope that Sailor Moon would
have better luck than her fellow Scouts had been having. But that hope
turned out to be in vain. The first officer swore softly in frustration
when he saw that Mitchell seemed unharmed. "I think I've just about had
enough of you," Mitchell told Sailor Moon.
"And just what do you think you're going to do about it?" she
retorted with more bravado than she felt. Mitchell didn't seem to react
at first, but several pebbles fell down around her. "Huh?" Puzzled,
Sailor Moon glanced to the ceiling above and then froze. A rather
sizable chunk of the ceiling had just broken off and was now plummeting
down at her.
Thankfully, a black blur moved her out of the way just before
impact. The rock slammed into the floor with a mighty crash, but
Mitchell wasn't paying it any mind. Instead, he was glaring at Tuxedo
Mask, who had one arm protectively around Sailor Moon. "Always with the
last minute rescues, Cape Boy?"
"As many as it takes to defeat you," he retorted, readying a rose.
"You don't have that much luck," Mitchell said. He was preparing
to attack the two again, but a disturbance at the cavern entrance
distracted him.An obviously angry Metallah stormed into the room.
Ignoring the scattered Sailor Scouts and Starfleet crewmembers, she
stormed right up to Mitchell, her voice loud and strident as she yelled
at him in her native tongue. "Ah, I see. If you'll excuse me, I seem
to be having a... labor relations problem. But don't worry, I'll get
right back to you." With that, Mitchell seemed to forget about the
battle while he turned his attention to Metallah.
The others moved over to where Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were
standing. For the moment it seemed that Mitchell was giving Metallah his
full attention, ignoring the Scouts completely. Chakotay hoped that this
lull would give them the chance they needed to regroup and turn the
situation around. But he didn't have much hope that they would as he
watched Tuvok aid a limping Sailor Mars towards the group.
"Now what do we do?" Venus asked. "Nothing we throw at him seems
to touch him."
"Do you have anything else in your arsenal?" Chakotay asked.
"Some other, more powerful attack."
"Yes, there's one more thing we could try," Mercury answered.
Actually, there were two things they could try, but the potential cost
of using the second was not something she cared to contemplate. And it
was for that reason that she dared not suggest it.
Not that she had to. Sailor Moon had already thought of using the
full power of the Silver Crystal here, but she was willing to give
Mercury's alternative a try first. "You're talking about the Planet
Power, right?"
"Yes." Mercury glimpsed over at Mars, who was still being supported
by Tuvok. "But I'm not sure Sailor Mars is up to it."
"I'll manage," Mars retorted. Tentatively she put her weight back on
the leg, but grimaced again. "Though it would be easier if this leg would
stop throbbing."
"Maybe you can get the Doctor to give you a painkiller," Jupiter
suggested.
Tuxedo Mask took a quick glance at the confrontation. "I'm not sure
you're going to have the time to get it."
"There is an alternative," Tuvok said. The Vulcan moved in front
of Mars. "There are a series of Vulcan disciplines I can use to help
you control the pain and enable you to function at optimum efficiency.
As we do not have the time for me to teach them to you, I must form a
low level mind link between us using a mind meld."
Mars seemed uncertain, but the urgency of the situation prompted her
to nod. "OK, let's do it."
Tuvok place his hand on the right side of Mars' head, placing his
fingers at the appropriate contact points. "My mind to your mind. Your
thoughts to my thoughts..."
"Why did you destroy that ship?!" Metallah raged. "You knew we
needed it!"
"So what if you did?" Mitchell told her. As always when he dealt
with his underlings, he replied in English, using his telepathic abilities
to translate it for her. He crossed his arms and glowered at her. "*You*
may have needed the ship to leave this world... but I no longer do. Not
that I ever really did."
If she had been human, Metallah would have blinked in surprise. As
it was, she did recoil in shock at Mitchell's announcement. "What do
you mean, you don't need that ship? You cannot leave this world without
a ship!"
"You severely underestimate my power, Metallah. I only needed the
ship to reach the Alpha Quadrant in a timely manner. And I only needed
you to acquire the ship for me." He paused and smiled.
"But.... But..."
"Metallah, Metallah," he chided her as one would a child. "There
are still some limits on my powers, and crossing vast distances in space
is one of them. I can easily cross short distances of a few light years
but even I must rest for an extended period after doing so. Hopscotching
like that across the galaxy would take me centuries to reach my goal, which
is why the ship was needed. But now I can take a shortcut across time
and space, thus eliminating the need for a starship." He regarded her
carefully. "But you have served me well. Therefore, rather than force
you to endure the pain of my imminent departure, I will grant you a quick
death."
Tuvok released his grip on Mars and moved back from her. Again she
tried to put weight on her leg, but now it had been reduced to a dull
ache. The damage was still there, but at least now she could walk on
it. "I'm ready," she told the others, nodding her thanks to Tuvok.
"Let's do it."
The others nodded and formed up in a circle. Chakotay moved to one
side, his phaser rifle ready just in case Mitchell turned back to them,
while Tuvok and Tuxedo Mask did likewise on the other.
"OK, creep. This one's for Harry, B'Elanna, Seven and everyone
else on Voyager," Venus muttered, risking a sidelong glance over at
Mitchell.
"VENUS STAR POWER!"
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"
"MARS STAR POWER!"
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"
Janeway blinked as she regained consciousness and took a quick
look around to evaluate the situation. Mitchell was confronting a
Negaran, which she had no doubt was Metallah. On the far side of the
room, the Scouts were grouped together, preparing an attack of their own.
Chakotay, Tuvok and Tuxedo Mask were standing nearby them, evidently
providing cover. In another corner she could see Neelix and what looked
like a smaller version of the Doctor (How had *that happened?) tending to
the fallen Tom Paris, who was either badly injured or maybe even dying.
"No more, Mitchell," she whispered, getting to her feet. "You'll kill no
more of my crew today. It ends *here*."
"MOON COSMIC POWER!"
"But you need us!" Metallah shouted, now grasping at straws.
"I need no one," Mitchell said flatly. He leveled a finger at her.
"But there is one more thing you can do for me. When I arrived, I granted
you and you people a share of my power, so that you could help me acquire a
starship. Since that is no longer necessary, I'll take back that power.
It will serve me far better that it will serve you after I have gone."
Before she could protest, a beam lanced out from Mitchell, striking her in
the abdomen. Feeling her powers being drained from both her and her
people, Metallah groaned and fell to her knees.
"You... you cannot do this," she protested feebly.
Mitchell regarded her as one would regard an insect. "Yes, I can.
Goodbye, Metallah." At a thought, a lightning like burst of energy
emerged from his hand and struck Metallah. The ruler of the Negaran
people didn't even have time to scream before she collapsed into a
lifeless heap.
"SAILOR PLANET POWER" the Scouts chorused and the chamber was
instantly filled with a brilliant light.
Lambert wasn't sure what to do. The aliens had been putting up a
good fight at the citadel main gate. But moments ago they had suddenly
ceased firing, and started dropping like flies to their weapons. He
didn't know just what to make of it.
A massive explosion rocked the ground beneath his feet, throwing him
and his fellow Voyager crewman off their feet. Looking upward, he gaped
in shock. The citadel was now a flaming ruin, the top of the structure
having literally evaporated. "What the hell was that?"
Chakotay stared upward at the open sky above him. The Scouts' attack
had completely blown the roof off the chamber and through the citadel
above it. He wasn't sure which amazed him more: the sheer power of the
attack, the fact that he and everyone else in the room were still alive
or that Mitchell seemed unaffected.
Then again, now that Chakotay took a closer look, maybe he had been
affected by the blast after all. Mitchell's form had rippled for a
second before solidifying, and his face bore a pained expression.
Regaining his composure after a moment, Mitchell glared at the Scouts.
"That almost hurt," he growled. A glow formed around his hand as the
Scouts started to take up defensive positions. "Had I not just reabsorbed
the power I had infused the Negarans with, it might have even been enough
to destroy me. But I suppose I should dispose of you, before you pose too
great a threat." Chakotay raised his phaser rifle and took aim, despite
knowing that his efforts would no doubt be useless. Not far away, Tuvok
did the same, while Tuxedo Mask readied yet another rose. But before any
of them could fire, a figure approached Mitchell.
"Mitchell," Janeway said, taking another step closer to the former
Starfleet officer. She could hear Chakotay urging her to get clear but
she ignored him, keeping her attention firmly focused on Mitchell. The
time had long passed to drop the pretense. She and her ally had to take
a direct hand in this before more of her crew paid the price. "Dispose
of *this*!" She raised a hand, pointing in Mitchell's direction.
Immediately a white glow surrounded it and lashed out at Mitchell.
Taken completely by surprise, he fell to the ground with a loud cry.
"Captain?" Chakotay breathed, lowering his phaser. Since they had
arrived on this planet, he had seen many things that would ordinarily be
termed 'unbelievable'. But seeing his captain speaking in the same tenor
of voice as Mitchell, and manipulating energies similar to what he had
been wielding was going well beyond the bounds of believable and into
the realm of the fantastic.
Tuvok, having had known Janeway for far longer than Chakotay, also
seemed stunned by this turn of events. But in typical Vulcan fashion,
his only comment was,"Fascinating."
Mitchell shook his head in an attempt to clear it, more stunned
than anything else. He heard Janeway say something else, but the words
didn't register for him. On the other hand, the tone of her voice did.
It had altered, taking on a resonating quality. Turning to face her, he
received another, more profound shock. Janeway's eyes had a silver
backglow to them, similar to his own. But how was that possible? She
hadn't been exposed to the galactic barrier as he had been all those
years ago on the Enterprise, there was only...
It came to him in an instant. Of course! If he was able to survive
all those years, the so could... "Elizabeth!"
"Got it in one," the entity inside Janeway replied before letting
loose another blast of psychokinetic energy at Mitchell.
"Elizabeth?" Chakotay whispered, still confused.
"He is referring to the entity within the Captain that Mercury and
Mars detected earlier," Tuvok informed him. "Apparently it is Dr.
Elizabeth Dehner, who had been altered in the same manner as Mitchell had
been when the Enterprise attempted to traverse the energy barrier at the
edge of our galaxy."
"Logical," Mars agreed. She had already 'heard' Tuvok reason this
out moment ago through the mindlink between them. "When Voyager first
crossed over to our universe, Dehner's essence must have somehow infused
itself within Captain Janeway. That's what I sensed in the ready room."
Sailor Moon looked oddly at Mars. Her manner of speaking had taken
on a distinctly Vulcan tone. "Are you sure you're feeling OK, Mars?"
"She's fine, meatballhead," Tuvok said suddenly. The Vulcan then
shifted somewhat uncomfortably under the stares he was getting. "As am I."
Despite the seriousness of their situation, Chakotay couldn't help
but chuckle slightly. "I wish Tom had been able to hear you say that."
Trying to press the advantage surprise had gained them,
Janeway/Dehner bombarded Mitchell with all the power Dehner could muster.
At first it seemed to Chakotay that they had him on the ropes. But all
too soon a glow surrounded Mitchell, one that seemed to be protecting him
from the onslaught.
"He's forming a shield," Mercury confirmed.
"Great. Is there anything this creep can't do?" Jupiter muttered.
"Die, apparently," Chakotay observed.
'We'll have to see about that,' Sailor Moon thought, and began
edging over towards Mitchell. If Janeway and Dehner failed, she could
see only one course of action left, and she just knew her friends would
make major objections if she proposed it.
Janeway gritted her teeth, and mentally urged Dehner to intensify
the attack. They had to take him out quickly. If Mitchell got a chance
to recover, they might not get another chance like this. Accordingly,
Dehner summoned up more of her power and channeled it into the barrage
they were maintaining against Mitchell. The glow of energies surrounding
the former Starfleet officer grew to the point where Mitchell could no
longer be seen. It was now impossible to tell if the bombardment was
having affect on him.
The answer became readily apparent when a large pressure wave came
from Mitchell's location, emanating in all directions and scattering
Janeway, the Scouts and the other Starfleet officers about as if they
were tenpins. Janeway shook her head to clear it and struggled to her
feet. Seeing that Mitchell was also standing, she and Dehner prepared
themselves to renew the battle.
"A good try, Elizabeth," Mitchell said. He may have looked as if he
had just run a marathon, but it was plain to see that his strength was
returning rapidly. Janeway could feel Dehner's own power starting to
renew itself, but she felt certain that it wouldn't be fast enough.
"Inhabiting the captain and hiding yourself inside her mind until you
could get close enough to strike was a clever strategy. You almost had
me there... for a moment. But the moment has passed."
"You haven't won yet, Mitchell," Janeway replied.
"True, but it's only a matter of time now," he told her. "My power
was always greater than yours, Elizabeth. That was true on Delta Vega,
and it's even truer now that I have the energies I took from the
Negaforce to draw upon. You haven't got a chance."
Both Janeway and Dehner knew that this was most likely true, but
that didn't stop her from trying to strike at Mitchell again.
Unfortunately, he was prepared for her blow this time and parried it
before retaliating with a strike of his own. Janeway fell to the ground
with a loud cry of pain.
Mitchell took a couple of slow, measured steps towards her.
"Goodbye, Elizabeth."
"Hold it!" a voice cried out.
Turning to his right, Mitchell saw Sailor Moon facing him defiantly.
If her bravado impressed him any, he didn't show it. "If you don't mind,
I'm busy. Besides, I already took your best shot, remember?"
"That was just for starters. If you were really at D Point, you
know for certain that I can do more than that," she countered.
Mitchell raised an eyebrow as a glow started forming around the
broach containing the Silver Crystal. "So you intend to use that little
jewel. Well, if you want to throw your life away in a futile attempt to
stop me, go right ahead."
"If that's what it takes to stop you, then so be it," she answered
without hesitating. "You're the kind of monster who would destroy
everything just for the sheer fun of it. Eventually you'd get around to
destroying my world. Even if you wouldn't, I'm not about to let you
destroy this universe. For this world and for these people, but most
especially my friends -- both the Sailor Scouts and those Starfleet
people we've met along the way. So for the sake of Kirk and Spock,
Picard and Riker, the crew of Voyager and even Worf... I'd gladly
sacrifice my life to stop you."
Another moved to stand beside Sailor Moon. "If the cost must be
paid in lives, then you should not be the one to pay it, Sailor Moon"
Janeway/Dehner said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We should be the
one's to shoulder the burden."
Sailor Moon shook her head. She may be willing to make the supreme
sacrifice herself, but she was unwilling to allow someone else to do the
same. "Captain, I can't let you..."
"It was my ship. Those still alive, both here and on the surface,
are my crew," Janeway interrupted, the tone of her voice making it clear
that the Starfleet captain, not Dehner, was speaking at the moment.
"We've both made the choice willingly, Sailor Moon. One way or another,
it ends... *now*." Not giving the Sailor Scout a chance to make any
further argument, Dehner used her own powers to link with the Silver
Crystal, and began funneling her energies through it. Realizing that
any further argument would be pointless, Sailor Moon willed the Crystal
to life. A bright beam emerged from the Crystal, striking Mitchell and
actually staggering him.
"Come on," Tuxedo Mask urged the others. "We have to help Sailor
Moon." The others nodded, and followed his lead,taking up positions
just behind Sailor Moon and Captain Janeway.
Regaining his senses at long last, Chakotay took in the situation
with a glance while he help Tuvok to his feet. "Grab your phaser," he
instructed the Vulcan. "Set it for continuous fire at maximum intensity."
Even as Tuvok made the adjustments to his weapon, he felt compelled
to point out the obvious. "Commander, given the amount of power
demonstrated by Mitchell, the Sailor Scouts and even Captain Janeway,
I am uncertain as to the difference two phaser rifles will make to the
battle."
"Maybe it won't make any difference," the first officer conceded.
"But that's our captain out there, and I intend to give her whatever
help I can."
Chakotay half expected Tuvok to point out the illogic in making a
futile gesture, but the Vulcan surprised him by simply saying, "Agreed,"
before aiming and triggering the phaser.
Neelix watched the battle progress uneasily. "I wish there was
something we could do to help."
"I'm afraid there isn't, Mr. Neelix," the Doctor noted. "All
either of us can do now is watch... and hope."
As the battle intensified, the power of the Crystal forged a link
between the three minds utilizing it -- Sailor Moon, Captain Janeway,
and Dehner. Each of them felt the determination the others felt to
destroy Mitchell, but Dehner kept some of her own thoughts to herself.
She knew that Sailor Moon would object strenuously, and Janeway most
likely would as well, but she did not intend to survive this battle even
if they proved victorious. . It had been hard enough for her to hold
onto her own humanity for only a century of this type of existence. She
knew that if she lived on, she could become as bad if not worse than
Mitchell, and she would rather die before that happened.
Sensing that Mitchell was close to breaking -- after all, he was
under attack by not only Dehner's full power, but Sailor Moon's
reinforced by the other Scouts and by two phaser rifles, -- Dehner
concentrated on pouring her last reserves of power into it and she
mentally urged her two allies to do likewise. Both agreed instantly,
and she felt the output from the Silver Crystal increase to yet another
level.
At long last, Mitchell's shielding failed him and the full power
of the Crystal struck into the core of his being. Dehner took a moment
to redirect the Crystal's powers into another avenue before Sailor Moon
would cease fire. If the legends of it's power were true, then she
could use it to help Captain Janeway and repay her for her assistance.
It would take the last reserves of her own power, but she no longer cared.
There was only time to say... "Goodbye."
Had anyone been there to see it, the view from space would have
proven breathtaking. In the span of less than a second a fountain of
light erupted from the heart of the citadel and soared upward into space.
The base of it spread outward in all directions, rapidly spreading out to
cover the entire planet. Wherever it touched, the faded and drab look
the surface had possessed was replaced with bright and vivid colors that
were normally typical of a class M world. The top of the fountain
continued skyward, reaching outward into space until it touched the
debris field that had once been an Intrepid class starship.
Unaware of the events taking place above, all Chakotay could do
was shield his eyes, trying to keep his phaser firing at where he
thought Mitchell was and hope that what he was doing would make some
small difference. He hadn't thought it was possible, but the light from
this display of power was even more brilliant than when the Scouts had
launched their Planet Power attack. Eventually the light faded, allowing
him to lower his hand and look directly at the scene. The captain still
stood there next to Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask and the other Scouts were
standing behind them. Of Mitchell, no sign remained. Everyone present
was frozen for a moment... until Captain Janeway and Sailor Moon both
collapsed.
"Kathryn!" "Serena!" Both Chakotay and Tuxedo Mask were first to
react. Tuxedo Mask rushed over to Sailor Moon's side, while Chakotay
likewise went to his captain. Chakotay immediately checked for a pulse,
and was relieved to find one, even if it was light and thready. "Neelix,
bring the Doctor over here!" he called over his shoulder.
"On our way, Commander," the Talaxian responded.
Nearby, Mercury was checking Sailor Moon's condition through her
visor and sighed with relief. "Her bioreadings are low, but seem to be
stable for the moment. I think she'll be OK, but we should get to some
a medical facility of some sort as soon as possible."
A wave of relief washed over the Scouts, but Mars felt a sense of
worry coming through the mindlink she still shared with Tuvok. Turning,
she saw the Vulcan was gazing at his captain and friend, the concern he
was feeling evident in his thoughts and even on his face. "Mercury,
what about Captain Janeway?"
She turned to the captain and waited for a moment for her visor to
process the data it was receiving. When the readings were finally
displayed, the relief she had felt moments before ebbed from her like
the receding tide. "It's not good," she decidedly understated. "Her
bioreadings are even lower than Sailor Moon's. If we don't get her
some medical help soon..."
"Neelix, where's that Doctor?" Chakotay called out.
"Keep your shirt on, Chakotay. We had to pick up what was left
of the medkit."
The first officer looked up suddenly, then almost shrugged in
resignation. What was one more shock after everything else that had
happened. "Tom? But how..?"
"I'm afraid the answer to that medical miracle will have to wait
until later," the Doctor noted drily. "Mr. Neelix, if you'll put the
computer down on my level..."
"Of course, Doctor," he said, and put Mercury's palmtop on the
ground in front of the hologram.
The Doctor grimaced as the readings scrawled across the screen.
"There's no time to lose. Mr. Paris, administer two cc's of cordrazine
to the captain, and zero point two cc's of it to Sailor Moon."
Paris started to make the appropriate settings to the hypo, then
paused. "Did you say two cc's?" Needless to say, that was a rather
large dosage of the powerful stimulant.
"I did, Mr. Paris. And hurry up about it. We're losing ground
rapidly."
Janeway's eyes snapped open almost instantly after Paris injected
her. She looked around wildly for a moment before she focused on...
"Chakotay..."
Tom moved over to Sailor Moon and, after resetting the hypo to
administer the smaller dosage, gave her an injection. As with the
captain, the results where immediate. She stirred and opened her
eyes. Seeing Tuxedo Mask hovering over her, she gave a weak smile.
"Hi."
"Hi yourself," he answered.
Behind him, Mars sighed in relief. "I swear, Serena, if you ever
do anything like this again, I'll... I'll kill you myself."
Darien saw a mischievous gleam come into Sailor Moon's eyes and
knew instantly that there was going to be trouble. "Why Raye," Sailor
Moon said. "I never knew you cared."
"WHAT?!?" Mars screeched. "Of *course* I care!"
"Try not to talk, Captain," the first officer told her. How weak
her voice had sounded chilled him to the bone. "Save your strength."
"No time for that," she said. She could feel the effects of the
cordrazine injection wearing off already. "Just... those still alive,
Chakotay. Do whatever you have to do, but... Get them home."
"You'll be able to do that," he objected. "Just rest and let the
Doctor do his..." He froze momentarily as her head rolled to one side
and her body fell limp. "Captain!"
"Her vital signs are falling rapidly," the Doctor said with alarm.
"Mr. Paris, prepare another injection. And somebody get the cortical
stimulators ready."
Janeway heard Doctor's initial statements, but the conversation
after that had become a rather indistinct mumble that grew fainter as
time passed. That combined with the fact that the light was fading
around her into darkness, made her fairly certain that she was dying.
At least she had been able to keep Mitchell from making good on his
threat of annihilating the Federation in the past. Her crew's friends
and families would be safe, even if they didn't know the ultimate
sacrifice most of them had made to insure that. 'I only wish... That I
could have gotten them, *all* of them, home,' Janeway thought as she
felt the darkness close in on her.
"You will."
Who said that? Was it some aspect of Dehner that remained with
her, speaking to her in her mind? Was she still mind linked with
Sailor Moon? She couldn't be sure. Maybe she had simply imagined
it. Indulging in a bit of wishful thinking just before the end.
Then, just before the darkness became total, she was certain she
heard a voice rising above the din from the outside world.
"Voyager to Captain Janeway."
Harry?
Blackness.
*******
"Well, that was certainly interesting. But I always knew that
Kathy had it in her."
If she could have, Janeway would have frowned inwardly. There
was something about that male voice that was familiar. But before she
could puzzle it out further, an unknown female voice spoke in a light,
almost teasing voice, "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were
carrying a torch for her."
"Oh, please, my dear," the male replied, sounding offended.
"One ball and chain is enough. I only hold the utmost respect for
Kathryn."
*******
"...she's coming around now."
Hearing that voice, Janeway forced open her eyelids and was
instantly positive that she was dreaming somehow. She blinked a couple
of times, but her vision remained steady. In fact, she could have sworn
she heard... "Doctor?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The hologram came into view above her, not the midget version she
had seen during the battle below but instead back at his normal size.
"Take it easy, Captain. You're out of immediate danger, but your system
is still weak from your ordeal. I'd rather you keep off your feet for
a bit."
Janeway nodded. At the moment she felt like a wet dishrag, but she
still felt compelled to prop herself up on her elbows. She looked around
her and felt as if she might lapse into unconsciousness again. Somehow,
someway, she was lying on the surgical biobed in Voyager's Sickbay.
Unless she were hallucinating then by some improbable miracle, Voyager
had been reborn. "This is impossible. I saw the ship destroyed."
"We all did," Amy said. For some reason Janeway was unaware of, she
had transformed back into her normal identity. Standing behind the
biomonitors, she glanced back and forth between them and her computer.
"All her bioreading appear to be normal, Doctor, if a bit on the weak
side. And that includes her EEG. But since it appeared normal
before..." Her voice trailed off and she glanced meaningfully at
Janeway.
"You needn't worry, Amy," Janeway reassured both her and the Doctor,
"The only one using my head right now is me. Dr. Dehner is gone...
forever." Feeling some of her strength returning, she swung her legs
off the biobed and sat up. Maybe a bit too quickly as the room
threatened to start spinning around her.
"Captain, I told you to take it easy!" the Doctor admonished her
sharply.
She held up a reassuring hand. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'm not
going to push it anymore."
"I've heard that one before," the hologram groused.
"Well... not today if that makes you feel any better," she added
with a smile. "How long was I out. And how did..?" She moved her hand
to indicate the room around her and the ship beyond the Sickbay walls.
"You've been unconscious for nearly a full day. And as for the
ship... I guess you could say that things like this tend to happen when
the Silver Crystal is used in that manner," Amy answered. "When Sailor
Moon first used it's full power, during our final battle with Beryl, it
somehow brought all of us back from the dead." She paused, considering.
"Still, I wonder why Sailor Moon wasn't as affected as you where."
"If I had to guess, I'd say that it was a result of Dr. Dehner's
influence," Janeway theorized. "I seem to recall her using her own life
force to empower the Silver Crystal at that critical moment."
"Well, I for one am glad to be back on the ship and out of
Mercury's computer," the Doctor said. "Existing as the 'Chibi-Doctor'
had it's drawbacks."
"What about the rest of the crew? And Tom?" Janeway asked.
"All personnel are accounted for, Captain," the hologram assured
her. "And in excellent health, I might add. Another side effect of
the Silver Crystal, I believe. You and Sailor Moon were the only ones
I had to treat in the aftermath. In fact, I was able to release Sailor
Moon from Sickbay some time ago. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Not
waiting for her reply, the hologram tapped onto his comm badge. "Doctor
to Chakotay."
On the bridge, Chakotay looked up expectedly. "Go ahead, Doctor."
"I'm pleased to report that Captain Janeway has regained
consciousness and is completely out of danger."
Chakotay could almost feel the tension that had been lingering over
the bridge crew literally evaporate. For each member of the bridge crew,
and those Sailor Scouts present, the tense expressions faded to be
replaced with smiles. Even Tuvok seemed somewhat relieved to hear the
Doctor's news. "I'm on my way down, Doctor. Chakotay out." Rising from
his seat, Chakotay gestured to the tactical station. "Tuvok, you have
the bridge."
"Acknowledged, Commander," the Vulcan replied as the first officer
made his way to the turbolift.
Raye got there before he did. "Mind if I come along?"
"Not at all," Chakotay answered, motioning her towards the turbolift.
"Looks like the good guys win again," Mina observed as the doors
closed behind them.
"Yep," Lita agreed with her friend. "This calls for a celebration."
Tuvok frowned as he assumed his position in the center seat. "A
celebration?"
"Yeah, you know. A party."
"I fail to see any cause for celebration," Tuvok said. "This ship
and crew has endured numerous hardships over the last few hours, even
leading to it's own, if temporary, destruction. It is only by sheer
good fortune that we have emerged unscathed."
"Yeah, and *that's* what we're celebrating!" Lita told him.
"Don't be such a stone in the swamp, Tuvok," Mina chided him.
The Vulcan frowned. "'Stone in the swamp'?" he questioned. "I do
not believe I am familiar with that human phrasing."
"I think she means 'stick in the mud'," Tom said.
Mina shrugged. "Whatever."
"Well, I think having a party is a brilliant idea," Neelix said,
heartily embracing the notion. "And as the ship's morale officer, I'm
going to insist on it to Captain Janeway... after the Doctor releases her
from sickbay, of course."
"Do you think she'd mind if started getting things ready?" Lita
asked.
"Of course not," Neelix said. "And I should get started right
away, too." He started for the turbolift, then paused and turned back
to the two girls. "Would you two mind giving me a hand?"
"Sure!" they chorused.
Sitting at the engineering station, B'Elanna watched with some
apprehension as the trio made their way to the turbolift, on their way
to the mess hall. "I hope that Mina can cook better than she handles
electronics."
"She does not," Seven stated flatly.
B'Elanna groaned softly. "That's just great. We survive all this
only to killed by terminal food poisoning."
"Well, at least we know there's one good cook in the bunch," Harry
pointed out, trying to make the best of it.
Turning in his seat, Tom looked around at his shipmates. "So... Any
bets on which of them will poison someone first?"
Playing the role of a good host, Chakotay allowed Raye to precede
him into the room. When he did follow her inside, he felt a palpable
sense of relief when he actually saw his captain and friend sitting up
on the biobed. Of course he had known he would, having heard the
Doctor's announcement minutes before. And while he did trust the
hologram's abilities, there was nothing like seeing that fact for
oneself to dispel any lingering doubts.
Raye was also glad to see the captain nearly recovered, but at the
moment she had something else on her mind. A quick glance to Amy
confirmed that all traces of Dehner seemed to be gone from Janeway's
mind, but she wanted to be sure for herself. Not saying anything
initially, she approached the biobed and stared intently at her.
"Why do I get the impression that you're probing the depths of my
soul?" Janeway asked lightheartedly.
"That's because I am," she replied. Ignoring Janeway's look of
incredulity, Raye continued her probe until she was satisfied. "There's
no sign of any other minds other than her own." She gave the captain
a meaningful look. "Not that I can detect, I guess."
"I can see that I'm going to be apologizing for keeping that little
fact concealed for quite a while," Janeway observed.
Chakotay shook his head. "Not to me."
"Huh?" Raye looked mystified.
"I know from experience that there are times when a captain needs to
keep information to him or herself," he explained.
"But you wouldn't mind an explanation," Janeway said.
Chakotay nodded. "True."
"If this were just a matter of trust, Raye, I would have told you
and the others about it in a second. But you saw how powerful a
telepath Mitchell was. He would have taken that knowledge from your
minds in an instant, and then we would have lost the only advantage we
had -- surprise."
"Not that it made much of a difference," Raye said.
"I'm afraid so," Janeway said, sighing. "The original plan Dehner
and I had created was for me to confront him alone after we had freed the
away team. She could have concealed myself, Tom and the Scouts from him
until that was done. After that, there would be too many minds for her
to hide. Once that was done, I would have sent the others back to the
ship in the Shepard, while Dehner and I confronted Mitchell."
"Given how powerful he was, that course of action would have been
suicidal," Amy pointed out.
"And somehow, I don't see Commander Chakotay agreeing to leave you
behind to face him," the Doctor added.
Chakotay nodded. "You got that right."
"Well, Mitchell was much more powerful than either of us had
anticipated, so it's probably just as well," Janeway conceded. "Besides,
the destruction of the shuttle took care of that idea."
"Speaking of the shuttle..." Chakotay began.
"That's right," Janeway said. "We should send down a team to
recover the wreckage. It'll at least give B'Elanna something to work
with for fashioning a replacement."
"That's not necessary," Chakotay told her. "We haven't been
sitting on our hands waiting for you to recover. I sent a team down
shortly after we returned to the ship. They found the Shepard in
pristine condition, with absolutely no signs of damage. It's currently
back in the shuttlebay."
"Why am I not surprised at that?" Janeway asked wryly. "So how are
we otherwise set?"
"All personnel are safe and accounted for," the first officer told
her. "As for the ship, there's no sign of damage to any of the ship's
systems. In fact, things seems to be running better than before we came
to this planet."
"Well, at least some good came out of this," the captain observed.
"By the way, where are the other Scouts?"
"The last I saw, Lita and Mina were on the bridge," Raye answered.
"And Serena and Darien?"
Chakotay decided to answer that one. "I gave them permission to
use holodeck one for an extended period. It seemed the least we could
do was to give them some time to themselves."
"I wonder what program they chose?" Janeway mused.
"I don't have any idea," Chakotay confessed, "But I think Tom may
have made a suggestion or two."
Serena looked dubiously about the cafe. Using the holodeck to visit
a French cafe had seemed like a good idea before, but some of the
characters the holodeck had created were downright strange. Especially
the one guy who was constantly playing pool. "Darien, are you *sure* this
is the program Tom was talking about?"
"Reasonably sure," he answered. "At least, I didn't see another
program labeled "Sandrine's" in the listing."
Next: Wrapping up a few things in the epilogue (such as getting the
Scouts home) before the story ends.